most facilities like spring creek are operating in maximum capacity. to alleviate the overcrowding, about a third of alaska's inmates are sent to private facilities in arizona. that's our report. thanks for watching. i'm john seigenthaler thanks for watching. you are looking at a live picture of london where the 2012 olympic games are in full swing. after last night's stunner denying michael phelps a spot on the medical stand, what can we expect today? 100 days to the election. is mitt romney wooing voters back home with the performance in israel? while the team is in defense mode, marco rub yeah's plane makes an emergency stop an the way to a campaign event. good morning, everyone. welcome to a special edition of "weekends with alex witt."

we begin this morning with news from london and the xxx olympic games. american swimmic ryan lochte. phelps fourth place, didn't medal. fans outside the aquatic center told us they were stunned. >> i'm very shocked. usually you would think fell ps is a guarantee to medal if not first. at least usa won but not the one you thought. >> we were hoping that ryan would win. he's the underdog. >> and the new guy. so i mean, that's exciting. >> meanwhile, beach volleyball stars they won their opening match against australia. the two-time defending gold medalists extended the record to

15-0. and olympic officials launched a probe in to why seats are empty at sold out events. some fans said the venues were about half full, in fact. we'll have a complete report on that just ahead. but first, let's get to l london for a look ahead for today's events. stephanie gosk is there. wishing i was there. let's talk about the big moments to watch going forward today. good morning. >> good morning. a day after the duel in the pool turned in to the upset in the pool, the u.s. team will be back in the water today. the next best hope for u.s. gold will be the women's 100 meter butterfly. that's dana volmer swimming and men, as well. there's a chance that the 100 meter freestyle relay will include both ryan lochte and michael phelps this time together on the same team. battling for gold and the underdogs in that event. outside the pool, you have the basketball team, men's basketball kicking it off today

against france. lebron james and kobe bryant on the court. you also have the finals in the 3 meter springboard diving competition for the women and also the much-anticipated women's gymnastics kicks off with its qualifiers. alex? >> yep. that is going to be fun to watch and people sitting prime time for that. how about watching the games yesterday? what stood out to you? we heard people that were spoken to after the swimming event when lochte beat phelps. that was a shocker for so many. >> reporter: look. i was in our newsroom here in the olympic compound when that event took place and literally everything stopped. people stood up and watched because it really one of the most anticipated events certainly in these early days and the early competition. and i think just people were amazed. not just amazed that ryan lochte won but just how badly he beat michael phelps by more than four

seconds. that was never predicted and you got the feeling that you were watching the dethroning of phelps yesterday. >> bob costas made a comment in the prime time coverage saying michael phelps looked uncomfortable. he was not used to being in a position being questioned coming out of the pool about, wow, you lost, dude. i mean, that's a hard place for him. he doesn't know that. he was 15 the last time he was an olympic -- in the swimming and won everything since he was 15 years old. >> reporter: yeah. it's interesting. you know, there's -- i would imagine there are certain words and phrases you get used to repeating when you're constantly the winner and you're gracious and thing that is you kind of resort to and you say. having never really been the loser in recent years, he's got to pick up a whole new vocabula vocabulary. not all that surprising that he was stumbling and looking for words. >> yeah. >> reporter: got to be a new feeling for him. >> let's hope he putts himself

in the right frame of mind for swimming today. stephanie gosk, thank you so much. appreciate it. we're going to get a look at the weather in london for a few days. we go to eric fisher w. a good day to you, we hear the weather may not be looking so good in london today. will this affect the games? >> good morning, alex. not as nice as last week, that's for sure. the 80s, the warmest days that london has seen the entire year and not the case in the first full week of competition. typical of what you expect. cloud cover speckled in with some sunshine. you will see the sunny times but every once in a while we get the rain showers also. you notice all just be a speckled nature. this is typical of the uk and looking at hit and miss showers to affect the outdoor events, no question. take a look at the five-day temperatures. not so warm. big story, of course, the beach volleyball and had to cover up. too cold outside in the overnight match.

60s forecast highs. and chances for showers, none of the heavy torrential rain leading up to the games. good news. the fan haves to bring umbrellas out there. stateside, the stormy areas today, pop-up thunderstorms this afternoon and drought areas, iowa and out toward illinois, wisconsin could see beneficial rainfall today. big heat in the southern plains and beautiful along the west coast. no problems there. story for many in the central southern plains, drought is continuing. big time heat with 107 in oklahoma city. 104 in little rock. 104 in san anglo, texas, this afternoon. more of the same as we kick off the upcoming work week and drought a big story. an update to that on thursday morning. looks a like a little bit of relief for the midwest and across the plains staying dry for the foreseeable future. >> yikes. i wish you were going to say they had rain coming. thank you so much. appreciate the live report.

live coverage continues at 7:00 a.m. eastern, that being the olympics coverage to watchmen's volleyball as russia takes on germany and the networks of nbc universe ral the home of the olympics. we air in total more than 5,000 hours of coverage for you so pull up a chair. to watch the games live as they happen, go to nbcolympics.com. mitt romney has made his way from london to israel for the second stop on his overseas trip. the presumptive republican nominee touched down in tel aviv last night. he has a full schedule including israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu. they talked to the media today about the threats faced by israel. >> as we face the challenges of an iran seeking nuclear capability, we must draw upon our interests and our values to take them on a different course and to assure that people recognize throughout the world

that the united states and israel are bound and in our commitments to one another. >> nbc's peter alexander's traveling with the candidate and joins us live on the phone from jerusalem. what's on the agenda today? >> reporter: what's impressive is mitt romney on the ground for 36 hours and a full plate on tap for him already this morning. speaking to you, standing outside the private residence of israeli prime minister perez. mitt romney left here a matter of moments ago finishing a sit-down conversation with him. earlier today, romney met with a man he refers to as an old friend, prime minister of israel, benjamin netanyahu. they have a relationship to the mid-'70s working in boston together as corporate advisers. they were business colleagues and really the intention for romney on the trip to demonstrate through the relationship we had with the individuals here and with his words that he would effectively be a better friend to israel than the current administration. earlier today, making some news

was the fact that the senior adviser of romney said that if israel has to take action on its own to prevent iran from being able to bomb, to make a bomb, to enrich the necessary nuclear capables, they would need for a bomb, that the u.s. would respect that decision. try to make it very clear that he stands side by side with israel and the battles on this region. alex? >> peter, all of this, can't be lost, happening in the political campaign and heetding up and this is an effort to help woo jewish voters on behalf of mitt romney but back here on friday the president extended military cooperation with israel. when's the reaction there? >> reporter: well, it's interesting because when you ask the israeli people, for one, they don't know much about mitt romney and familiar with barack obama. arriving here before he was president, he was a name that was celebrated but there's been some skepticism and the perception perhaps of president

obama who changed in the region in the eyes of some because of the at times tough relationship he's had with benjamin netanyahu. a rocky start to them at the white house, not long ago. nonetheless, when's noticeable here is that the policy differences between the two are generally pretty minute. it's the relationship between the two leader that is romney's hoping to establish today between him and prime minister netanyahu and he's hoping that that will resonate with voters back at hoenl and jewish voters who overwhelmingly supported barack obama four years ago. >> the president has not been in israel since coming in to office and been in the region. peter alexander, traveling with mitt romney, thanks so much. this weekend, mourners said final good-byes to some of the victims of the colorado shootings, jessica ghawi's family and friends held a memorial service in texas. the 24-year-old was an aspiring sports reporter. in ohio, mourners attended the

funeral of matt mcquinn. he took three bullets while shielding his girlfriend, she survived. we'll learn what charges prosecutors will bring at the arraignment. in new orleans, the navy christined the newest trip, "the uss somerset." it is in tribute of september 11th. two dozen families and friends of victims atentended the ceremony. straight ahead, the presidential elections, 100 days from today. and there's a new poll with a very large disparity in the likability category. we'll get to that. plus, the obama campaign is making a big change that you might notice in some new advertising out there. how will niceness factor? n? and i thought "i can't do this, it's just too hard." then there was a moment. when i decided to find a way to keep going.

go for olympic gold and go to college too. [ male announcer ] every day we help students earn their bachelor's or master's degree for tomorrow's careers. this is your moment. let nothing stand in your way. devry university, proud to support the education of our u.s. olympic team. devry university, proud to support the education every communications provider is different but centurylink is committed to being a different kind of communications company. ♪ we link people and fortune 500 companies nationwide and around the world. and we will continue to free you to do more and focus on what matters.

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♪ right here is where dreams are coming true for some of the athletes with a live picture of london. this is olympic stadium and the olympic flame in the center. the construction, that's because they're preparing the stadium for the track and field events getting under way on friday. so a few days to get it in top shape and it will be by friday. there's 10,000 or so athletes chasing the dreams, hoping to win a medal and maybe the gold and of 205 countries, 80 are still trying to win the first medal ever. they'll be satisfied probably with a silver or bronze there. now front page politics w. 100 days before the election, the latest poll of "usa today quots found that president obama has a likability rating of 60%. compared to mitt romney's 30%. a plane carrying marco rubio

made an emergency landing in albuquerque yesterday because of an electrical problem. he was not injured but had to cancel a visit to iowa. another potential romney running mate tim pawlenty in north carolina saying americans are looking for economic help. >> they're saying, pleading, asking the president to listen but he doesn't hear or he doesn't care. what they're saying is, get the government off my back. >> well, the former minnesota governor says the private sector knows how to create jobs. president obama, mitt romney's confrontation in pennsylvania in november may depend on whether voter haves the proper identification to be allowed to vote and many apparently do not. tomorrow president obama travels to new york city to attend some campaign events. we are going to get to the voter i.d. issue this hour. but president obama is using a new tactic in the final vetch of the presidential race, changing the tone of the campaign by showing his softer side. in two separate ads released last week, the president traded

direct attacks on mitt romney for now a more positive pitch to voters. this change comes after the latest nbc news/"wall street journal" ad where voters blamed him for a negative campaign. amy barnes white house correspondent for "the hill" wrote an opinion on this tactic. good morning. >> good morning, alex. >> let's talk about obviously the expected success for this positive campaign strategy. where do you think that comes down for president obama? >> well, you know, it could go either way but i think what voters tonight want and especially independent voters, impacted by the negativity. not moving the numbers much in terms of favorability for the president so i think what the president's trying to do now atervet to capture the independent voters to sort of play a little mr. nice guy and just sort of appeal to them, to bring back the -- what they saw in him in 2008. you know, the guy who inspired

hope and change and so i think that you are seeing more of that right now. >> in fact, the timing of all of this, according to your article, you quote a guy saying that the negativity reflects a campaign that's months ahead of where campaigns normally are. now that it's been so negative, is it time to play nice? >> it is. voters are just starting to tune in. in fact, the president starting to capture that. you saw it in a third ad of friday night with the opening ceremonies where he once again -- it was an ra ra, go america ad saying, you know, this is dreamers and doers and very feel-good. so you're seeing that shift a little more, an effort to sort of capture that independent vote. >> yeah. the line that we have heard in these couple of ads, i'm barack obama and i approve this message and then here's the addendum, because i believe we're all in this together. how effective do you think that's going to be?

>> can be effective. i talked to strategist and some voters who think that they wanted to see more of this side of the president. they wanted him to not just slam the private equity and governor romney's business background. they wanted to see what his ideas are and so what you saw in those ads were the president basically saying these are my ideas, these are governor romney's ideas. this is the contrast, this is the choice as he called it. and so, it's not a choice between two men as he said but a choice of two visions and i think that's basically what you see in the campaign, hear more and more of that choice offered. >> when we look at the negativity numbers in particular, amy, do you think voters are just fatigued by a long campaign process or do you think these numbers indicate a greater disappointment of politicians? >> i think it's a little bit of both, actually. the campaign started a little early. i think reporters are fatigued right now. but i think that, you know, you saw in 2008 when then senator --

well, senator mccain opposed president obama. he used an ad, celebrity, which you might remember. >> sure. >> paris hilton and britney spears and some paired senator obama to the two and i think voters want to see more about the guys' ideas. >> maybe some problem solving. amy, thanks. good to see you as always. >> thank you. straight ahead, ryan lochte leaves michael phelps in his wake and winning the gold med nal that race right there. what a race it was. but will it be a ripple effect on phelps' commercial appeal to sponsors? we'll talk about that. ] gross -- i'll tell you what's really gross: used dishcloths. they can have a history that they drag around with them. try bounty extra soft. in this lab demo, one sheet of bounty extra soft leaves this surface 3 times cleaner than a dishcloth. the cleaner way to clean. bounty extra soft. to experience the largest, most efficient line of luxury hybrids on the road,

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london. how are you? >> i'm doing great. how are you? >> i'm great. i see commercials with michael feps, citi card or visa and you have ryan lochte swimming the way all the way to the olympics in another one. what happens on the result of a race like yesterday when you have michael phelps being the big branded guy and he loses, he doesn't even medal? what happens to that brand? >> well, ryan lochte is now america's favorite. i mean, yes, we all love michael phelps but lochte and one thing to understand is he was already getting endorsements before he won that god medal last night and making $2.3 million innocent doersmentes of procter & gamble and speeos and mutual of omaha. winning one or two more gold medals, that's harder than probably in our lifetime but he

could surpass michael phelps' endorsement deals by -- michael fell ms making about $6 million in endorsement deals in 2010 and set to make more money winning the 1 or 2 god medals. >> really? you think that's the gauge? he went 8 for 8 the last olympics. that was a phenomenal feat he did. you think that ryan just by doing another gold medal or two -- i agree. just won another gold medal, no problem, but he can do better in terms of ringing up the financial endorsements? >> here's the reason why. lochte was on the cover of "vogue." he looked amazing with the models and a lot of these advertising analysts are saying that they're just quite frankly advertisers are fell ms out and he's really -- they want someone who's in the american conscious right now. he is doing really well. he is personable.

someone said he has a personality, one like a golden retriever. i don't think they mean in it a bad way but nice and personable and what advertisers want. >> that makes absolute sense. i don't want to be a downer here but i want to talk about jobless numbers real quickly. give me a read on that and what analysts are expecting. >> alex, i would never pin you as a debbie downer but jobless numbers are coming out an they're anticipating it to kind of stagnant at 8.2% and part of the reason why is because manufacturing, that whole industry, isn't really adding on more jobs. that's because there's a global softness in the industry. now, i think, also, a lot of not only manufacturers but companies globally are just not quick to hire. and so, we're going to see that especially in the united states. that unemployment rate staying at 8.2%, unfortunately. >> and the corporate earnings numbers are coming out. right? >> right. a lot of those media companies are coming out with earnings.

>> okay. thank you very much from london. we appreciate it. and in just a moment, more from london on the pursuit of gold medals and the royal presence at the games. is it changing the image of the royal family? we'll take you to london to find out. provide a better benefits package... oahhh! [ male announcer ] it made a big splash with the employees. [ duck yelling ] [ male announcer ] find out more at... [ duck ] aflac! [ male announcer ] ...forbusiness.com. ♪ ha ha! throughout our entire lives. ♪ one a day men's 50+ is a complete multi-vitamin designed for men's health concerns as we age. ♪ it has more of seven antioxidants to support cell health.

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